Dunbeath Castle

Dunbeath Castle stands on a rocky peninsula on Scotland’s east coast, two kilometres south of the village of Dunbeath in the Highland region. A four-storey tower house replaced an earlier structure in 1620, and later owners added 17th-century upper storeys and 19th-century extensions. The castle occupies a narrow promontory defended by a dry ditch on the landward side. Its grounds form part of the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland. The oldest masonry remains at the south-west corner, while Scots Baronial additions appear on the north and east fronts. The castle has belonged to the Sinclair family for long periods since the 15th century. Alexander Sutherland held the lands first, then his daughter Marjory married William Sinclair, the first Sinclair Earl of Caithness. In March 1650, Royalist forces under the Marquess of Montrose attacked the castle during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Catherine Fraser Sinclair defended it briefly before surrendering to Sir John Hurry. The castle was later remodelled by Sir William Sinclair in the 17th century and again by architect David Bryce in the 1850s and 1880s. Visitors find a mainly 17th-century building with later additions in Scots Baronial style. The interiors have been much altered over the centuries. A three-quarter-mile tree-lined drive leads to the symmetrical northern front. The grounds include designed landscapes recognised in Scotland’s inventory. The castle’s dry ditch and promontory setting remain visible features of its defensive past.